Alabama fans leave coke bottle, oatmeal cream pies under statue of Nick Saban

It’s the end of an era in Alabama with the new Wednesday that football coach Nick Saban will retire after 17 seasons in Tuscaloosa. With the word quickly making its way around campus, a few fans have begun to show their appreciation for the Crimson Tide legend in a creative way.

A photo emerged of the statue of Saban from outside of Bryant-Denny Stadium where several items had been left. Among them included a box of Little Debbie oatmeal cream pies — Saban’s favorite breakfast treat — and a Coca-Cola bottle, which the coach always had next to him in press conferences.

It seems fans wanted the coach to know just how much they appreciate him for the countless memories he has brought. You can view the moment below.

Outside Bryant-Denny Stadium, #Alabama fans have placed oatmeal cream pies and coke at the bottom of Nick Saban’s statue.

Somber aura around the University’s campus. pic.twitter.com/k60pBCj6jK

— Mathey Gibson (@Mathey_Gibson1) January 10, 2024

Nick Saban retires with an all-time record of 297-71 across 28 years as a college head coach. He has more national championships (seven) than any other coach in history, six of which have come at Alabama. Not only that, but he has won a total of 11 SEC Championships.

That includes adding a conference title this past season to finish the season 12-2. Alabama snapped the 29-game winning streak for Georgia, punching its ticket to the College Football Playoff for the eighth time. They ultimately lost to eventual champion Michigan in overtime, but took the Wolverines to overtime and fought until the end.

Many called it one of Saban’s best coaching jobs of his career as the Crimson Tide reeled off 11 straight wins to reach the CFP. That made it the perfect time for the 72-year-old coach to go out on top.

Now that he’s retired, it’s been speculated that Saban could be the successor for Lee Corso on ESPN’s College GameDay. For now, he’ll look to enjoy his retirement and hang up his hat as one of the greatest to ever do it.

Nick Saban’s coaching resume — and tree — are among the all-time best

Saban’s storied coaching career started in 1973 when he was a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Kent State. From there, he had assistant coaching stints at Syracuse, West Virginia, Ohio State, Navy and Michigan State before he got his first head coaching opportunity at Toledo in 1990.

After just one season, though, Saban headed to the NFL with the Cleveland Browns under the legendary Bill Belichick. He worked as Belichick’s defensive coordinator from 1991-94 before becoming a head coach once again at Michigan State from 1995-99, amassing a 34-24-1 record before he took over at LSU in 2000 — where he won a national title three years later.

All told, Saban had a 292-72-1 record as a college football head coach, including a 201-29 mark in Tuscaloosa. He also had a stint with the Miami Dolphins from 2005-06 where he went 15-17 before taking over at Alabama.

Even beyond his personal success, Saban also produced one of the best coaching trees ever. Kirby Smart is among the most notable names, winning two national championships at Georgia in 2021 and 2022 — beating Saban to win the first one. Smart is just one of the current head coaches to learn from Saban, though, as he helped resurrect some careers as well.

Texas’ Steve Sarkisian, Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin and Maryland’s Mike Locksley all worked under Saban as offensive coordinator before getting their respective head coach opportunities. Other high-profile current head coaches who worked under Saban include Florida’s Billy Napier, Oregon’s Dan Lanning and Miami’s Mario Cristobal.